Blind Myths & Funny Stories Part 1: Dispelling Myths

For those of you who read my last post, you will remember that I included a couple of myths, legends or misunderstanding of the blind world, namely:

• Guide dogs are not trained so that the owner says, “Take me to the shops” and the dog magically knows where to go:  the owner, blind person has to learn the route and then the dog (normally) gets them through their journey in one piece … I’ll come back to this in the next entry.
• They are not ‘Blind Dogs’:  it’s enough of the problem for the owner to be blind, not the dog as well; they are Guide Dogs
• Creativity is not restricted to those who are sighted .. it does occur in those who do not have sight

I’d like to share a few more stories and insights that may make interacting with visually impaired/blind people easier, and also help to dispel some of the myths.  So, for today:

Dispelling the Myths

• Blind people, just like people in wheelchairs, do have a life and personality of their own and can speak for themselves.  There is no need to ask the person with them, “Are they okay today?“
• Guide dogs very much enjoy being given attention, but NOT when they are working.  You can tell when a dog is working because the owner will be holding the metal handle.  When the handle is ‘down’ i.e., lying on the dog’s back they may be approached but always ask the owner first if it is okay.  Be aware that not all owners appreciate their dogs being petted.  Giving dogs attention when they are working is dangerous as they can rapidly become distracted and even stressed as they try to ignore the attention and perform their work duties.
• Guide dogs have a life outside of work.  Don’t let the raving loonies and animal rights extremists tell you any different.  Owners go through rigorous selection and training where they learn all aspects of care for their dogs (which is more than can be said for the rest of us who can just buy a dog from a breeder or pet shop with no further obligation to undergo any training or even bond with our pooch).  In many cases guide dogs are their owner’s best friend and possibly, only companion at home.  They are exercised, they play and their owners love them.  In fact, I know at least one animal rights supporter who has no idea how to look after their pets!  And before the animal rights people start slagging me off, yes, I do believe that they have a valid place in protecting the welfare of animals … I just thing that common sense often comes third on a list of one to two!
• Many blind people can do much of what sighted people can do; talk, listen, interact, make friends etc.  BUT they are rarely able to get up, walk across a room of people and just strike up a conversation, mainly because they have to find the people first.  So, rather than expecting them to come to us, why don’t we approach them … they don’t bite (well, not unless they’re really hungry).
• Blind people often have skills and perceptions beyond, or at least from a different perspective to sighted people.  Check out Andy Bounds, a prolific motivational and business speaker who produces incredibly successful results primarilyas a result of (not in spite of) growing up in a family with a blind mother.  The experience has enabled him to see relationships and human interactions from a different perspective and apply those insights to become an internationally renowned business and motivational speaker. Andy himself has developed severely restricted vision but that doesn’t stop him being one of the most sought-after speakers and trainers today.
• Blind people don’t automatically have amazing listening and touch sensitivity skills.  These skills are not inherent, you know, you’ve been born without sight so you’ve got super skills elsewhere to compensate.  These skills are heightened through practice and application, and because they are needed to make up for lack of visual information.  More than 90% of our information comes to us through site; yes, more than 90%.  Imagine taking that away and you are left with an awful lot of information to gain through the other senses (hearing, touch, smell etc).  If you want to see a blind person ‘really blind’ put them in a crowded room and try to chat to them with lots of chatter and talking in the background.  It’s a bit like trying to see a plane in the sky as it flies across the sun; there’s just too much other information to detect the detail.

There’s a lot more I could write, but hopefully this little insight helps us all appreciate the difficulties and disadvantages that many blind people face.  So, next time we meet someone who can’t see as well as we can, let’s remember that they are often as keen as us to make new friends, or at least interact with others: it’s just that their disability frequently prevents them from having the chance.

Try This Link - Great Advice from Experience

This entry is really short … just a link to check out for really sound advice, from experience.

Check Out This Link

Happy Christmas - Why Not Take a Rest?

Today is Christmas Eve …

I love this time of year because I try to take time to rest, relax and recharge.  It’s very easy to get caught up in the hype, the adverts which tell us that in order to be happy we must buy this or that product … until we feel that we’re on a carousel we can’t jump off.

So, why not find somewhere quiet and amongst the joy, partying and celebrating take some well-earned rest and recovery!

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas & Peaceful New Year.

… and if you like poetry, here’s something I wrote about the first Christmas …

THORNS AND STRAW

A back street stable in a crowded town.
Anguished screams; an occasional moan
Go unheard in the noise of a night
Of hustle and bustle, and rooms packed tight
With people, so busy and unaware
That a virgin’s sweat means God is here.

No warm, cosy glow; only candle-lit straw.
A manger and oxen and filth on the floor.
No sweet smelling incense or soft comfy chair,
But cold stone walls; acrid smells in the air;
And the breath of animals to supply the heat,
In this hole in the rock on an unnamed street.

But God’s not ignored the place that He’s chosen
To visit as a baby, when the night air’s frozen.
He treats some shepherds, the lowest of the low,
To front seat tickets at the greatest light show;
And singing and music like they’ve never heard before,
Which leaves them face down, shaking on the floor.

“Get up! Rejoice! For your king is here!
Run to the town and worship Him there.
Not in the palace so lofty and tall,
But lying in a stable, accessible to all.
So go! Take gifts and sing and feast,
For the mightiest God, has come down for the least.”

And in palaces and castles hundreds of miles away,
A country’s elite, at the end of the day
Study changes in the stars and heavens which bring
News, that on earth is born a king.
A king so great that creation bows down,
And brings its own offering, unseen in the town.

Their journey is long and filled with pain,
Across scorching deserts and rugged terrain.
As days turn to months and months to years;
Following the bright star whenever it appears.
Then rejoicing and thanks when at last they find
A small boy, just walking; the Lord of mankind.

With regal bows and language unknown,
They offer their gifts to Mary’s son.
Gold, incense and myrrh; “What can I believe?”
His mother wonders as the visitors leave
To journey back east, their hearts on fire.
They’ve seen and worshipped the true Messiah.

And as years roll on by and the crowd’s anger grows,
In reaction to this radical who constantly shows
That God has no favourites; our rules don’t apply
To the values of heaven. “Crucify!” they now cry,
So He’s crowned and beaten and then nailed to a tree;
This King, Priest and Sacrifice; thorns and straw set us free.